Live Captions: How to Turn Them On for Meetings and Videos

Live captions turn speech into on-screen text as it is spoken, and you probably already have them: Chrome, Windows 11, macOS, iPhone and Android all include a free Live Caption feature, and Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet have their own captions inside the call. They are switched on in a few clicks, run largely on your device, and work for meetings, videos and podcasts alike. What most of them do not do is save a transcript, which is where a real-time transcription tool comes in.

This guide shows how to turn live captions on in each place, compares them in one table (checked October 2026), explains the limits, and covers options for deaf and hard-of-hearing users and for anyone who also needs the text afterwards.

Live captions vs real-time transcription

The terms overlap, but the difference matters when you choose a tool:

• Live captions show the last line or two of speech on screen. When the words scroll away, they are gone. The aim is to follow along right now.
• Real-time transcription, or live transcription, builds a running text you can scroll back through, search and usually save or export.
• A transcript after the fact is made from a recording once the meeting ends. It is slower but tends to be more accurate, with punctuation, speaker labels and timestamps.

System features such as Chrome's Live Caption are the first kind. Meeting platforms sit in between. Dedicated tools, including our browser extension described below, combine live captions with a saved transcript.

How to turn on Live Caption in Chrome

Live Caption in Chrome works for any audio playing in the browser: YouTube, podcasts, course videos and web versions of Meet, Zoom or Teams. On Windows, Mac or Linux:

1. Click the three-dot menu in the top right and choose Settings.
2. Open Accessibility (on Linux, Accessibility > Captions).
3. Switch on Live Caption.
4. For audio in another language, add it under the caption language settings so Chrome downloads that language pack.

A caption box appears at the bottom of the window whenever a tab plays speech. You can drag it, expand it to show more lines, and change the text size in the caption settings. According to Google's Chrome help page, audio and captions are processed locally and are never stored. The same page describes a Live Translate option that translates captions; in that case the caption text is sent to Google for translation.

Two limits: Live Caption only hears audio played inside Chrome, not a desktop Zoom app, and it does not capture your own microphone.

Live captions on Windows 11, Mac, iPhone and Android

Windows 11

Press Windows + Ctrl + L, or go to Settings > Accessibility > Captions. Windows live captions work system-wide, for any app, and can include your microphone. Microsoft's live captions help page says captions are generated on the device and not stored anywhere, and lists more than 20 supported languages. Translating captions requires a Copilot+ PC running Windows 11 version 24H2 or later.

Mac, iPhone and iPad

Apple's Live Captions live under Accessibility in Settings on iPhone and iPad and in System Settings on a Mac. They work in any app, including FaceTime and other calls, and Apple supports them on iPhone 11 and later and on Macs with Apple silicon. The feature started as an English-only beta and Apple has added languages since, but the list depends on device, region and OS version, so check the Live Captions section of Apple's iPhone guide for your setup. Apple's separate Live Translation feature covers fewer languages.

Android

Press a volume button, tap More under the volume controls, and switch on Live Caption, or search for "Live Caption" in Settings. Google's Android help says captions are processed on the phone, never stored and work without a connection once the language pack is downloaded. Language support depends on the phone: older Pixels support English only, while Pixel 6 and newer and selected other phones handle around 15 languages. Translating captions needs Live Translate on a Pixel 6 or newer.

Captions in Zoom, Teams and Google Meet

The meeting platforms have their own captions, which everyone in the call can turn on.

• Google Meet: click Turn on captions in the toolbar and choose the spoken language in the caption settings. Google lists many languages, some marked beta. Translated captions are limited to certain paid Workspace editions, and a recording can include captions if you choose to record them.
• Microsoft Teams: open More > Language and speech > Turn on live captions (labels vary by version). The spoken language setting applies to the whole meeting. Teams can also produce a saved transcript if someone starts transcription. Live translated captions require Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, according to Microsoft's Teams captions page; if the organiser has one, all participants can use them.
• Zoom: click Captions or Show captions in the toolbar, if the host has enabled automated captions in the account settings. Hosts can usually allow participants to save captions. Translated captions are sold as an add-on for paid accounts. Zoom's language lists and plan rules have changed several times, so check Zoom's support site for the current details.

Platform captions have one big advantage over system ones: they work in the desktop apps, not only in a browser. Their weak spot is control: the host often decides whether captions, transcripts and saving are allowed.

Live captions compared (checked October 2026)

Plans and language lists change often; confirm on each vendor's help page before you rely on a feature.

The limits of built-in live captions

Built-in captions are free and fast, but they share a few weak points:

• No record. System captions vanish as they scroll. If you need minutes, quotes or action items, you have nothing to work with afterwards.
• No speaker names. Most show one stream of text, so in a group call you cannot tell who said what.
• Limited languages and translation. English is best covered. Other languages depend on the device and plan, and translation is often reserved for newer hardware or paid licences.
• Accuracy drops in real conditions. Names, jargon, strong accents, poor microphones and people talking over each other all cause errors, and live captions cannot go back and fix them with later context the way a full transcript can.
• Fragmented setup. Chrome only hears Chrome; a meeting's captions only work inside that meeting.

Our tips on getting accurate transcripts apply to live captions too: a decent headset and one person speaking at a time help more than any setting.

Live captions plus a full transcript: the Audiotexta extension

If you want to follow along live and also keep the text, Audiotexta's browser extension does both. It captures the audio of the current tab, for example a Google Meet, Zoom or Teams call in the browser, a webinar or a video, and optionally your microphone, and shows live captions in a side panel with a running transcript. When you stop, you can send the recording to the Audiotexta editor, which builds a full transcript with speaker labels and timestamps, and exports such as TXT, SRT and VTT. Paid plans add AI summaries, action items, translation and DOCX or PDF export.

Audiotexta does not use user content for model training. It does not join meetings as a bot; the extension only hears what your browser plays. For the wider picture of recording options, read our guide to meeting transcription for Google Meet, Zoom and Teams or see the meeting features.

One rule applies to every tool that records: tell the other participants before you capture a call, because in many countries recording people requires their consent.

Accessibility: live captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing users

For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, live captions are often the difference between following a conversation and missing it. A few practical points:

• Turn on system captions once and they work everywhere: Windows, macOS, iPhone and Android captions cover calls, videos and apps without asking each host. Apple's hearing accessibility page and Google's and Microsoft's help pages linked above explain the options in detail.
• Hosts can help. Enable captions and transcripts by default, use a good microphone, ask people to speak one at a time, and share slides and names of people and products in advance.
• Make recordings accessible. For published videos, add proper subtitles rather than relying on viewers' live captions; our guide to SRT and VTT subtitle files shows how.
• Know when automatic is not enough. For exams, court, medical appointments or large public events, a professional human captioner (CART) or a sign language interpreter is still the standard. Automatic captions are a useful supplement, not a replacement.

Live captions cost nothing to try. Switch them on in the browser or system you use most, see how they cope with your next call, and add a transcript tool only if you need the text afterwards.